This page lists some of the best software for the Classic Mac OS – System 6 through Mac OS 9.2.2 – in my admittedly biased opinion. Listings are alphabetical, and some programs have OS X versions as well as classic ones. Many links are to archived files in my Dropbox.
Tag Archives: Classic Mac OS
Although the Classic Mac OS remains useful, it’s getting hard to find at a reasonable price. We hope these links help you do so, whether for System 6, Mac OS 9.2.2, or something in between.
Mac OS 8 introduced several modern features while still supporting Quadras and 68040-based PowerBooks and Performas.
System 7.5 and Mac OS 7.6 introduced many new features and greater modernity while staying within reach of most early Macintosh models.
The early versions of System 7 provide broader capability for modern tasks than System 6 while still being practical for even the lowliest Macs.
Ding! Welcome to Macintosh. Whirr whirr whirr. A scant few seconds later, you’re clicking on Microsoft Word 5.1a and beginning to type.
Need a copy of System 6.0.8, 7.0.1, or a newer version of the Classic Mac OS for your vintage Mac? You can dig through apple.com and try to find them – or you can download them using the updated links on this page. (Apple does rearrange things, making it more difficult to find things.) All versions […]
Today marks the 15th birthday of Mac OS 8, but the operating system’s name is perhaps more significant than any of its features.
Charles W Moore raises a good point in Thoughts on Using Older Macs as Work Machines: As much as we may love our old Macs, some of them just don’t have what it takes to be productive in the wired and wireless world of the Internet today.
2011 – One of the advantages of using older Macintosh computers is that you can get a lot of great software for just a few bucks – or even for nothing, as abandonware. On the other hand, new software for old Macs is scarce, and the lack of updates for crucial software is the main […]
2011 – I got lots of positive and encouraging feedback on my article about going back to OS 9, Back to Mac OS 9, Because It’s All I Need. The main point of my article was that I could go back to OS 9, because it provides me with everything I want to do with a […]
2011 – I’ve done it. I’ve sold both my Intel iMac and my MacBook Pro (Late 2008). I took the money and spent it on a very nice trip with my girlfriend. Wonderful memories. That left me with my old configuration, a dual 1 GHz Power Mac G4 MDD maxed out with 2 GB of RAM. It […]
Complaints about modern software being bloated and overpowered are a penny a dozen, but there is some truth in the idea.
Mac OS X is a brilliant operating system. But what about the “Classic” Mac OS in the Age of Snow Leopard?
One of my interesting jobs at Low End Mac is compiling our price trackers, which have evolved quite a bit over the years. We do price trackers for all Macs that are supported by some version of Mac OS X, from beige G3 Power Macs and WallStreet PowerBooks through today’s Intel-based Macs. We also track the […]
It’s been almost two years since I last wrote for Low End Mac, but my love of all things Apple hasn’t waned. Most recently, I’ve become the proud owner of an iPhone 3G, which may finally stop me hunting for an elusive MessagePad 2100 on eBay.
I recently wrote some short articles on running Internet Explorer (IE) 5.1.7 in OS 7.6.1 (with the help of the Appearance Manager 1.0.4 SDK) and ResEditing OS 7.6.1 to believe it is OS 8.1. That is the way I am doing it myself, but the stuff here could help you, even if you’re running a different […]
2005 – In my previous article, we looked at 68k Mac browser and email options. Now we’ll look at options for PowerPC (PPC) Macs running the classic Mac OS.
2005 – Much has been made in recent weeks about the dearth of acceptable Web solutions for legacy Macs. To some extent, I agree with the position taken suggesting older Macs are in fact limited by their software in an increasingly connected, global community.
2001 – Gathering software for older Macs has become my latest Macintosh obsession. I am copying the installers onto hard drives and Zip disks for posterity’s sake. There is a lot of useful shareware, freeware, and commercial software available at little or no cost to the hordes of “vintage” Mac users. Some are distributed by […]
2001 – I find that casual users of the Mac OS do not investigate the features of the operating system as thoroughly as necessary to achieve the greatest efficiency. Perhaps that is because Mac users tend not to read the manuals for their computers (if there is a manual to read), or maybe it is […]
StuffIt Deluxe is the most comprehensive compression solution for the Mac. It is not just an application that compresses files; it handles everything that a user needs to do for file exchange or compression. StuffIt Deluxe 6.5 is the best version to have, since some of the features discussed, such as StuffIt Express Personal Edition, […]
Nothing is more annoying that a cluttered desktop. It is nice to create aliases to your favorite applications and files, but it is not very nice to have them all over your desktop. Just like for a real desk, a cluttered computer desktop can be less functional and can distract you from your work.
2001 – Transferring files from one computer to another used to be relatively simple; you just copied the files to a floppy and sneaker-netted it over to the other machine, and voilà, you’re done. However, since the advent of the iMac, which has no floppy drive, users have had to become more creative. The solutions […]
Owning a portable computer is great. In the world of computing, mobility has its benefits. You can use your computer virtually anywhere, which is definitely splendid to channel a burst of creativity and produce work. Here are a few tips to learn how to use your portable for best results, sometimes for security purposes.
2001 – You are not very likely to face direct attacks from hackers because you use a computer, because those people mostly target businesses and large networks. On the other hand, the security of your files is never 100% guaranteed, even though you use a computer that less people know to hack than, say, Windows.
BBEdit Lite (BBEL) from Bare Bones Software is a program I use daily. It looks like a simple text editor, but I don’t use it for designing pages or writing; I use it because BBEL has a blindingly fast search-and-replace function. In fact, that’s the feature I use most of the time.
2001 – Everyone knows how to type, and many typists use Microsoft Word, since it is a standard for word processing. Word has plenty of unused and unknown features that facilitate the writer’s work. Whether they help to improve your writing, make word processing easy on the eye, or provide powerful editing techniques, those features […]
I’m a bipolar extensions user: I go from one extreme to another. First I’ll go download a bunch of cool extensions that improve my user experience. Extensions are part of what make the Mac so fun. Over time, the extensions build up to the point where I feel like I have too many. Maybe I […]
2001 – Your Mac was so darn fast when you bought it. It was a top-of-the-line and state-of-the-art computer, but it suddenly seems older than you. You have the impression that with all its power, it could deliver the goods in much less time than it does now.
